Foreign Missions of the 


Methodist Episcopal Church 
1906 Marks of Progress 1906 


’¥ *e e & 


The year 1906 closed with many missionaries and foreign visitors assembled 
in Bareilly, where William Butler planted the mission in 1856. The JUBILEE 
of Methodist Missions in Southern Asia was there celebrated. 
India At one of the meetings the visitors were thrilled at the sight of 
523 recently converted Hindus from adjoining territory, gath- 

ered together to receive baptism at the hands of their foreign friends. 

The Jubilee statistics show that after fifty years there were in Southern Asian 
Methodism (including India, Malaysia, and the Philippines) 132,463 members 
and probationers, which, with the more than 57,000 baptized children, made 
the total Methodist community number more than 190,000. During this fiftieth 
year alone there had been nearly 19,000 baptized. The 1,519 schools of all 
grades, with their 41,759 pupils, and the 3,441 Sabbath schools, with their 
149,279 scholars, showed what Methodism had accomplished in educational 
work, secular and religious, in fifty years. With the 349 foreign missionaries 
there were associated in this Jubilee year 4,972 native Christian workers. At 
the end of fifty years there were 350 Methodist churches and 394 parsonages, 
the value of which, with the other mission property, amounted to millions of 
dollars. 

The most noteworthy feature of the work in India for the year was the spread 
of the revival spirit which animated almost every Conference and presiding 
elder’s district in the field. From the revival on one circuit in North India 544 
baptisms had resulted before the end of the year. Concerning the workers of 
another district, the presiding elder stated that a number were so transformed as 
to be scarcely recognizable. At the summer school of one of the districts of the 
Northwest India Conference a revival began which spread to the boys and girls 
of the boarding schools in the city where the summer school was going on. The 
presiding elder said: ‘“What might be called a tornado of grace fairly swept 
nearly all the boys and girls of the boarding school into the kingdom in two 
nights.” 

: The devotion of the Indian Christians is evinced by the report which was 
made at the Jubilee with regard to the offerings of the native Christians. This 
report showed that without counting the grants made by the British Government 
or the collections received outside of India, the Jubilee contributions amounted to 


I 


Py ae 
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Rs. 136,964, or $45,655. This means a contribution of about thirty cents a 
member from these people, most of whom exist in a condition of poverty of which 
the people in Western lands know almost nothing. 


An unusual incident occurred during the year in the Bijnor District, NORTH 
INDIA CONFERENCE. One of our Methodist native preachers was invited 
by the Mohammedans of his vicinity to occupy the “‘mimber”’ or pulpit in a 
Mohammedan mosque, a privilege which is almost, universally reserved for maulvis, 
the Mohammedan priests or holy men. The invitation was the result of a contro- 
versial pamphlet which the minister had written against the religious movement 
known as the Arya Somaj, with whose leaders the Mohammedans also had a 
controversy. 


The number of villages and settlements in the Moradabad District in which 
Methodist Christians were living in 1906 exceeded 1,200, and Methodist Chris- 
tian workers are said to have been working regularly in 400 other villages in that 
district. The Christian community of that district alone numbers 15,000 people. 
The presiding elder of the district reports that idolatry is rapidly vanishing, ninety- 
six shrines having been destroyed in 1906. The attitude of many Hindu teachers 
in this region is expressed in the words of one who said, when referring to a sermon 
by a Methodist preacher: ““The theme of the preacher was the incarnation and 
deeds of the Christian Avatar (Saviour) and not the abuse of our gods.” 


The work among the servant classes has become one of the especially suc- 


cessful lines of work at Allahabad, in the NORTHWEST INDIA CONFER- 
ENCE. There are several thousands of this class in Allahabad, and they have 


been found a most accessible class in which to work. 


The year 1906 brought Meerut District an unprecedented number of in- 
quirers among the higher castes and classes. Several have been baptized, but 
timidity has kept most of them from crossing this Rubicon. One man baptized 
was the head of the civil government in what would correspond with a township 
in the homeland, though in India such a territory would have a population of well- 
nigh a quarter of a million. He has put two of his stepsons into the Methodist 
boarding school. 


At Bidar, the only station in the SOUTH INDIA CONFERENCE where 
we have medical missionary work, a dispensary was erected during the year. At 
this center plans have been consummated for the opening of Christian boarding 
schools for boys and girls. So deep is the interest among the Christians about this 
mission station that ordinary day laborers have been putting forth great efforts to 
win their neighbors for Christ. 

The Baldwin Boys’ High School, in Bangalore, had an especially prosperous 
year. The enrollment reached 183, of whom 83 were boarders. ‘The rapid 
increase in the number of boarders made necessary the erection of an additional 


building. 


The name of the Kathiawad District appears in the minutes of BOMBAY 
CONFERENCE this year for the first time. This work covers the western 


2 


peninsula for which it is named, and is a result of the expansion of the work in 
Gujarat. But six years have passed since the Rev. William E. Robbins and the 
Rev. D. O. Fox baptized the first converts in this region. The work has ad- 
vanced so rapidly that it was set off as a separate presiding elder’s district at the 
beginning of the year. + 

The unique English-speaking work comprised in the Bombay District has 
reached a remarkable financial condition. The Bowen Church, in Bombay, and 
the congregation at Igatpuri, besides three other smaller churches, are practically 
self-supporting, and the whole district is nearly independent financially. Further- 
more, there is a considerable amount of mission work being carried on among the 
natives in and around Bombay, entirely at the expense of the members of the 
English-speaking congregations. 

The Gujarat District, where a great mass movement has been in progress 
for the last few years, continued its phenomenal work during 1906. Upwards 
of 2,600 baptisms were reported for the year, the largest number in the history of 
the district in any year except 1901, when baptism was resumed after two years 
cessation, due to famine. In spite of the tremendous mortality list of 1,123 in the 
baptized community, the number of baptized Methodists has reached 18,000, 
with several thousands more awaiting baptism. The Florence B. Nicholson 
Memorial School of Theology was dedicated early in the year at Baroda, and the 
regular theological school was opened with a class of fifteen in November. This 
is the second school of theology to be opened by the Methodist Episcopal Church 
in India, and the first in the western part of the country. 


_ Beginning early in February unusual religious awakenings took place in three 
of the central stations of the Jabalpur District, CENTRAL PROVINCES 
MISSION CONFERENCE, namely, Jabalpur, Khandwa, and Narsinghpur. 

The Sironcha Circuit, of the Godavery District, showed a remarkable in- 
crease in the contributions by natives. The use of the tithing system resulted in 
the doubling of collections in one year, meaning a tenfold increase over the con- 
tributions of three years ago. | 

During the year a high school department was added to the Hardwicke 
Christian Boys’ School, in Narsinghpur, and the doors of the institution were 
thrown open to non-Christians, with the result that eighty-five Hindus and Moham- 
medans have been enrolled, all of whom are receiving systematic teaching in the 


New Testament. The 200 students of this school are taught in five languages— 
Urdu, Hindi, Persian, Sanscrit, and English. 


The Tirhoot District, BENGAL CONFERENCE, has been enlarged by 
the taking over of a new circuit, which, for financial reasons, had been abandoned 
by another mission. The Methodist workers found 250 Christians on the circuit. 
They state that the addition of this new territory to the Bengal Conference brings 
with it the responsibility for 1,000,000 more unevangelized people. 


In spite of depleted missionary forces, work has been continued successfully 
among Burmese, Chinese, Tamils, and Telugus in the various mission centers of 


BURMA MISSION CONFERENCE. In connection with the Burmese work 


a new school was opened at Dabein. 


The better organization of the Burmese Church has been aided by the 
publication in Burmese of a handbook of the doctrine and polity of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church. This book contains translations of certain sections of the 
Discipline of 1904. Burmese Methodism is also at work on the publication of a 
new hymnal, containing one hundred religious songs. 


+’ &¢ & © 


One of the striking features of the work in the MALAY PENINSULA 
was the discovery and promotion of what is said to be an anti-opium remedy. A 
st jungle leaf was found which acted as a “‘specific”’ 
M ala Sla remedy against opium, and a young Chinese connected 
y with the Methodist Mission in Kuala Lumpur, secured 
a large amount of the leaves, which were dried, boiled, and given out as medicine 
to opium smokers. What seemed to be cures were effected and the demand for 
the medicine increased so rapidly that it was impossible for the missionary and 
native Christian forces to cope with the situation. Within two months the remedy 
was in use all over the Malay Peninsula and at Singapore and Penang and re- 
quests had been received by the missionaries even from Java and Sumatra. In 
the first two months of this work nearly 30,000 applicants had asked for the 
medicine, and hundreds testified as being cured. At the Methodist Mission Hall 
the preachers and young men worked almost night and day, and three preaching 
services were held each day, so that the applicants for the anti-opium medicine 
were given healing truths for their souls. 

The largest single enterprise carried forward by the Methodist Mission in 
Malaysia is the remarkable educational institution, the Anglo-Chinese School, at 
Singapore. This year the work occupied the time and energy of five men and 
four women missionaries, in addition to the large staff of other teachers. The en- 
rollment reached the 1,000 mark during the year. 


Our mission in JAVA, though but one and a half years old, has already 
passed the experimental stage, and is a most gratifying success. The Moham- 
medanism of the Malays is less obstinate there, and many of them are found among 
the 188 members and probationers reported, the other members being Chinese. 
Two day schools report a total enrollment of 255 pupils. The United States 
Consul General at Singapore while on a vacation visit to Java had an opportunity 
to see the work of American Methodism there, and he speaks very highly of its 
progress. 


NORTH BORNEO was without a missionary during the year, owing to 
the absence on furlough of the Rev. and Mrs. J. M. Hoover. The school at 
Sibu and the various preaching appointments were kept up under the care of 
faithful native workers. The colony has students preparing for the ministry in the 
training school at Singapore. 

At the Annual Conference of 1906 Mr. C. M. Worthington was ap- 
pointed to WEST BORNEO, with instructions to open a school in Pontianak. 
The Dutch authorities made no objection to this plan, but their law forbids the 


4 


establishment of religious work without reference to government. Application for 
permission has been duly made. Meanwhile the school at Pontianak reports an 
attendance of eighty pupils. At Singkawang a Chinese druggist holds a 
Methodist local preacher’s license, but lacks the government’s authority to use it. 


*¥ * & % 


The marvellous growth of the work in this mission is shown by the fact that 

the missionaries on the field have exceeded their limit in receiving new members, in 

are re that they cannot care adequately 

Philippine Islands for those whose names are already 

on the rolls. From 12,866 mem- 

bers and probationers in 1905, the membership increased to 16,133 in 1906. 
At the Conference in March, 1907, the membership passed beyond 20,000. 

Self-support is a growing feature of the work. Three of the native preachers 
on the Manila District in 1906 received all of their support from their circuits, and 
most of the others received a large part of their living from the field. Every circuit 
on the district contributed something for its preacher, although the people are very 
poor. 

The new Central Church (American) in Manila was completed at a cost 
of about $12,000. It is a beautiful structure of cement blocks that give the ap- 
pearance of rough-faced stone. It is an ornament to our work and will meet the 
need of the American population. ‘Work was begun on the new Knox Memorial 
Filipino Church of Manila. This will be a large and commodious structure, 


*¥ &  % 


According to Bishop Bashford, the most striking fact in modern history is 

the awakening of China during the last five years. Dr. Arthur Smith thinks that 
. China in respect to her attitude toward modern civilization has 
China been making progress in the last few years at a faster compara- 
tive rate than any other nation upon the face of-the globe. Sir 

Robert Hart, the ablest Englishman in China, says that Dr. Smith’s view is sub- 
stantially correct, and that “‘China’s only hope in the present crisis is such a revival 
of Christianity among Western nations as shall lead them to evangelize the empire.”’ 
Among the numerous changes which characterize this progress of China are the 
extension of the postal system, educational reform, and the establishment of thou- 
sands of schools in which Western learning is introduced, the outgoing of large 
numbers of young Chinese to Japan, Europe, and America for study in modern 
universities, the increase in the railroads and telegraphs, and the spread of the 
English language. The viceroy of the Hupeh and Hunan Provinces, Chang Chih 
Tung, issued a decree that among the 58,000,000 people over whom he rules, 
the New Testament henceforth shall be taught side by side with the Confucian 
classics. It is said that during the last year 10,000 temples have been turned into 
schools, preparatory, normal, police, and agricultural—while others have been 
fitted up for hospitals. Colleges, naval, military, medical, scientific, and other 
kinds, are being opened at an incredible rate. ‘The instructors are mostly Japanese, 


5 


though all nationalities are employed. The army and navy have been increased 
and improved. Not only is there strong public sentiment against foot-binding, but 
laws forbid the continuance of the custom. ‘The government has opened public, 
lecture halls all over the country, equipped with competent teachers, maps, charts, 
and pictures. Millions of pages of printed matter, including tracts and books on 
the need of reform, are everywhere in evidence. 


Such striking development has inevitably been felt by the missionaries. All 
over the empire schools have been crowded and the applications for admission 
have far surpassed the ability and equipment of our teaching force to provide for 
those who would enroll. Almost without exception our evangelistic and medical 
workers have found a greater readiness on the part of the people to receive the 
message. Requests that missionaries or native pastors should begin work in prac- 
tically untouched communities have greatly increased in number. 


The North China Conference, at its session for 1906, reported an increase 
for the year of 12 per cent in the number of baptized Christians. Six schools have 
been added to the number conducted by the mission. ‘The enrollment in the 
schools increased nearly 50 per cent. The increase in gifts for self-support by the 
churches of North China was over 25 per cent for the year. 


Taft’ Hall, the largest addition to the noble group of buildings that com- 
prise Peking University, was completed. Sixty students of the university, mem- 
bers of the Student Volunteer Band of that institution, who have purposed to give 
their lives to Christian work, spent the summer in evangelistic work in the cities and 
towns of North China, with splendid results, both in their own spiritual upbuilding 
and in the spreading of the good news among their heathen fellow-countrymen. 


A notable revival occurred at Nanking, Central China, in May. It began 
with the union meetings led by Mr. Li, a Chinese evangelist. “The end of the union 
effort marked the beginning of a series of public meetings at Nanking University, 
which continued four weeks, with intense interest, resulting in a notable religious 
awakening among the students both of the university and of the Girls’ School. 
These university meetings were carried on by the Chinese with very little counsel 
on the part of the missionaries. ‘The Chinese did the personal work, conducted 


the daily prayer meeting and the classes for the instruction of inquirers and young 
converts. 


The Rev. G. W. Verity, of Taianfu, Shantung Province, writes: ““My 
heart is thrilled as I see what God is doing in this great land. Doors opened every- 
where and inquiries by the dozens where there were units a few years ago. The 
Chinese are far exceeding our expectations in the Centennial Contribution. Num- 
bers of places where there are fifteen or twenty inquirers are begging to have a day 
school opened at a cost of only $25 (gold) per year (of which often they will 
pay half), so the teacher can teach them the Bible, too. In a few years these little 
places will develop into churches.”’ 


A very serious riot developed at Nanchang, in Central China, in the last of 
February, resulting in the death of six Roman Catholic priests and two Plymouth 


Brethren missionaries. “Through timely aid on the part of the Chinese officials all 
Methodist workers escaped the fury of the mob. 


The large new hospital at Chentu, West China, and the Alden Speare 


Memorial Hospital, at Yenping, in the Foochow Conference, were completed. 
6 


The year ended with deplorable famine conditions existing in large parts of 
Kiangsu and Anhui Provinces, and with the very urgent necessity for immediate 
aid from the Christian nations of the West if lives in jeopardy, even into the 
millions in number, were to be saved. 


*¥ € + 


The Rev. William B. Scranton, M.D., Superintendent of the Korea Mission 
Conference, says: ‘““The growth of the church in Korea cannot be likened to any- 
thing but the spreading of a prairie fire, and without exaggera- 
Korea tion it is developing a like force. Everything must shortly go 
before its power and onset. Our church at home seems unable 
to appreciate the conditions in the midst of which missionaries are working in the 
far East, and in fact, all over Asia; but a few figures will briefly tell the story of 
the work in Korea, or at least give some idea of it. In October, 1905, we had a 
joint District Conference. At that time our total membership and following 
for the three districts—Seoul, South Korea, and West Korea—were only 9,974. 
Thirteen months later our numbers stand at 19,450. More than doubled. This 
is the story for the south alone. ‘The north also has its own story of marvelous 
growth to relate. Here in the south we have day schools starting up all over our. 
work, beginning at their own instigation and supported by their individual strug- 
gles. We now have forty schools, with sixty teachers, and a total of nearly 1,500 
scholars. Whole villages turn to Christ and the Christian church, almost in a day, 
casting away their idols and heathen practices and humbling themselves as truly 
in the sight of God as did the Ninevites of old, beseeching Him to have mercy on 
their afflicted land.” 

In the Pyengyang District, one of the northern districts, during the year the 
membership increased 100 per cent, and the contributions for the support of the 
work increased over 400 per cent. On a single circuit in Pyengyang District, eight 
new churches were secured, while others were repaired and otherwise improved. 
In January, 1906, on this same circuit, there were twelve boys’ day schools, with 
225 pupils. A year later there were twenty schools, with over 500 pupils. 

The year ended with the great revival movement augmenting week by week. 


A Sc 


According to Bishop Harris, the Russo-Japanese War profoundly affected 
Japan religiously. ‘The first effect was seen upon the court and upon the emperor 
and empress, who offered prayers for the triumph of their 

Ja an troops. The army was especially affected devotionally. The 
p leaders of the army, the great generals, personally invoked the 
blessing of heaven upon their undertakings. ‘The bishop says: ““There is almost a 
universal welcome to Christians and to Christianity. The nation has come to 
recognize the great benefits already received through Christianity, and the almost 
universal conviction that Christianity is a necessity, and when it becomes fully 
known, and enters into the life of the people, that much larger benefits will be 
experienced. Another result of the war is a very marked increase of attendance 
upon the churches and chapels and upon the Christian schools. In this connection, 


7 


also, there is a new spirit of inquiry and a readiness to hear and believe that is very 
unusual, and is observed in all parts of the empire.. The schools for young men 
and young women and all Christian schools in Japan are overcrowded and the 
position of these schools is in every way free from any embarrassments. So greatly 
are they in favor that the Japanese Educational Department has taken unusual 
pains to render the position of these private and Christian schools entirely free from 
all disabilities and to create conditions wholly favorable to the prosecution of 
their work. The friendship of American Christians and of the Christian world 
during the dark hours of the nation’s life more profoundly affected Japan and in- 
fluenced her toward Christianity than any other thing that has occurred. The 
Christian churches are in a very healthy condition. ‘There is no vast movement of 
multitudes seeking immediate admission into the church, but it is a steady, normal 
and ever-growing movement toward Christianity, as observed in the nation.”’ 


A new building for our publishing house has been erected at a cost of 
$25,000. This is one of the most prominent and attractive buildings in the most 
important business section of the capital city of Tokyo. It shelters the only Chris- 
tian Mission Press in the Japanese Empire. ‘The printing is done in seven different 
languages. ‘The institution makes its own type and does its own electrotyping, 
stereotyping, and binding. A new building for Chinzei College, at Nagasaki, 
was erected, the total cost of building and furnishing being about $10,000. 
The structure is of brick and is capable of accommodating nearly 400 students. 
The old buildings will be used for dormitory purposes. New buildings for classes 
and administration at the Anglo-Japanese College at Tokyo were also finished. 


A serious famine in Japan, affecting a territory covering an area of 15,000 
square miles, was undergone during the early months of the year and comprised 
one of the outstanding features of the year’s experience for the missionaries, these 
giving themselves unstintedly to the securing of funds and distribution of relief. 


The Joint Commission of the Union of Methodism in Japan, composed of 
representatives of the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, South, and the Methodist Church of Canada, met in Buffalo, in July. 
After two days of patient and prayerful consideration articles of union were 
unanimously adopted and provision made for the organization of the Methodist 
Church of Japan. This new union church is modeled after the organization of 
the three uniting churches, and includes General, Annual, District, and Quarterly 
Conferences, with well-defined duties and powers. The General Conference will 
meet quadrennially and be composed of an equal number of ministerial and lay 
delegates. The itinerant system is preserved, and an itinerant general superin- 
tendency provided. ‘The first General Conference was to meet in the city of 
Tokyo, in May, 1907, and commissioners representing the uniting churches were 
to be present at this gathering, to assist by counsel and consultation in the organi- 
zation of the new church. 


The Methodist Church in Japan will have over 12,000 members, 128 or- 
ganized churches, 139 ministers, 62 Bible women, 14 boarding schools for both 
sexes, with 2,729 pupils; 32 day schools, with 2,713 pupils; 2 theological 
schools, with 53 students. The value of churches and parsonages is above 


$100,000 (gold). There will be three colleges for men and 13 middle schools 


for young women. 


In LIBERIA, at present, the secretaries of the treasury and of the interior, 
the postmaster-general, and the chief justice of the Supreme Court, the governor 
* of the County of Montserrado, the collector of customs, and 
Africa many other ofhicials and representatives of the government and 
also some of the principal merchants are members of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church. The reports at the Conference held at the close of the 
year showed a total membership of 4,105, property valued at about $90,000, 
and total collections on the field, $12,000. Our churches at the two principal 
centers, Cape Palmas and Monrovia, are entirely self-supporting. The church at 
Monrovia not only pays all its own expenses, but also helps Bishop Scott in his 
work among the heathen at Krootown. 


On November 16, the Rev. W. P. Dodson, the presiding elder in charge of 
ANGOLA, sent two preachers from Loanda to start a mission at Kalombaloka, 
where is the largest concentration of native population he had seen in Angola out- 
side of Loanda. _It is situated in the district of Icole and Bengo. One new station 
has been opened among the raw heathen in a locality called Nzengele, another 
among the more civilized Ambaequistas, at Nzamba. These, with Kalombaloka, 
give three new stations among the natives, which, with the original three, makes 
the number now six, with prospects for others. Famine has interfered with this 
native work during the year. 


One of the most important events of the year in MADEIRA was the 
building of a chapel at Machico at a cost of $1,500, the money being supplied 
partly by the Missionary Society and partly by friends through Bishop Hartzell. 
The chapel was opened on October 29. 


There are more than 800 people in the INHAMBANE. DISTRICT, 
East Africa, who recite the Ten Commandments, the Apostles’ Creed, and the 
Church Catechism every Sunday, and who repeat the Lord’s Prayer twice in 
public services daily. Dr. E. H. Richards, the missionary in charge, writes: ‘“We 
will not give place to any average church in the homeland in our ability to recite 
all these teachings, together with eight of the best psalms of David. Whole sta- 
tions can recite the Sermon on the Mount, Paul’s Sermon at Athens, the last half 
of the fifteenth chapter of First Corinthians, and the whole of our hymn book of 
200 church hymns.” 


One of the most encouraging features of the work in RHODESIA is the 
spread of missionary activities among the native tribes at some distance from the 
headquarters at Umtali and Old Umtali. Early in the year the Rev. Shirley D. 
Coffin toured widely among the native kraals, visiting 150 in all, and preaching in 
135. Of the 25,000 people to whom he preached at least once, more than 
20,000 had never before heard the gospel. ~The Rev. and Mrs. John M. 
Springer and the Rev. Robert Wodehouse conducted similar tours during the 
year, reaching many thousands of natives who never before were brought in touch 
with foreign Christian teachers. 


Bishop William Burt, in review of the work in Europe, says: “There have 

been features of special interest in connection with the European Conferences this 

year. In ITALY we celebrated our twenty-fifth anniversary, 

Europe and it was a pleasant and profitable occasion. In SWIT- 

ZERLAND we celebrated the jubilee, and it was memor- 

able for the records of the victories won. In NORWAY also it was the jubilee 

year, and those present will not soon forget the manifest presence and power of 

the Spirit of God. At the Sunday services held in the woods there were no less 
than four thousand people, and many sought and found the Saviour. 


“We have had many victories during the year. NORTH GERMANY 
CONFERENCE alone reports a net gain of 1,060, and most of this gain is in 
Saxony, where the persecution has been the most obstinate. [he Lord has given 
success in HUNGARY. Last year we were looking for a hall in which to 
worship in Budapest. Now we have a Methodist community there of about one 
hundred faithful souls. We have again opened our church in Trieste, though 
under restrictions. There are many encouraging signs in Bulgaria. 

‘‘Nearly all the Conferences have made very decided progress in the matter 
of self-support, and several of them are giving very generously toward the mis- 
sionary cause, both through the regular collections and by special gifts. 


‘In FINLAND today we enjoy full liberty, and the people are anxious to 
hear the Word of Life. We held.the Conference this year in our Finnish church 
at Viborg, very near the Russian frontier. The only sign of the former tyranny 
was the presence of Russian soldiers. We have had quite a revival among the 
Germans in Southern Russia. At the Conference in Viborg we appointed the 
Rey. F. H. Salmi as preacher in charge at Saint Petersburg. ‘This is the first 
appointment of a Methodist preacher who speaks the Russian language.”’ 


At the meeting of the General Missionary Committee in November, Bishop 
Burt announced that $5,000 had been promised him for the purpose of opening 
a Methodist mission in FRANCE, and the General Committee gave the bishop 
permission to begin work in that Republic. The Rev. A. H. Lambert was ac- 
cordingly sent by the bishop to Marseilles. 


The work on the Atlantic coast has enjoyed a year of steady, encouraging 
progress, shown especially in the opening of new work and in the completion of 
B several new churches and chapels in the 

South America established missions. At Parana, Ar- 
gentina, a new building was finished and 

opened for public worship, free of debt. At Venada Tuerto, a new chapel, school 
room, and parsonage were dedicated during the year. In Bahia Blanca, which is 
said to be second only to Buenos Ayres among the cities of Argentina, a commo- 
dious and graceful structure was opened to the public about the end of November, 
the entire work from the drawing up of the contract having been accomplished 


Io 


since the session of the Conference in March. This church, which will accommo- 
date between 300 and 400 people, and to which a convenient school room is 
attached, is said to be the only Protestant church in an area of many hundred 
square miles. 


Reports from ARGENTINA and PARAGUAY in particular refer to new 
work begun during 1906. Several of the points mentioned in the annual report of 
the Southern District, in Argentina, appear for the first time in this year’s report. 
At Alejandra, in the extreme northern part of the province of Santa’Fe, Methodist 
activities were begun under most favorable auspices. In Paraguay an interesting 
enterprise has developed among the native peasantry of the interior, and at several 
points new societies have been organized during the year. 


An unusual opportunity for Methodism has presented itself in BOLIVIA: 
A letter from the Rev. F. M. Harrington, written from La Paz, August 30, stated 
that the Bolivian government had offered him an annual subsidy of 15,000 Bolivian 
dollars for the maintenance of a high grade school in La Paz, and had offered to 
place this school under the control and direction of the Methodist missionaries. In 
addition, there was placed at the disposition of Mr. Harrington a large sum for the 
purpose of organizing and supplying with a faculty the government high school in 
Oruro, the railway center of Bolivia. Several Methodists have gone out to fill 
these positions. They will have unhampered opportunities outside of their hours 
of instruction for teaching and preaching the gospel and for winning the young 
people of Bolivia to the cause of evangelical Christianity. 


The work in CHILE has passed out of the experimental stage. It is well 
established in the principal cities of the Republic, and during the past year has 
been spreading into the smaller towns. The missionaries report that prejudice is 
dying out. as the people come to understand the gospel as presented by the 
Methodist workers. There have been many conversions during the year and con- 
sequently the conditions in the stations already occupied make enlargement almost 
imperative. Some stations have grown into circuits too large for the present staff 
to handle adequately. There are urgent calls for our workers to enter large towns 
varying in population from 30,000 to 40,000. Self-supporting churches have 
increased in number, notable among these being the church at Punta Arenas, that 
picturesque community on the Straits of Magellan, in the far southern part of the 


Republic. 


The most encouraging report from PERU is that the attitude of the people 
toward the gospel was more friendly during the year than ever before. The greatest 
hindrance to the progress of evangelical Christianity in that country has been the 
bitter opposition of fanatics, the opposition in Lima and Huancayo having been 
most marked previous to 1906. The diminishing of this hindrance and the in- 
creasing respect and friendliness of the people toward the gospel have been men- 
tioned by missionaries who have written during 1906. Another encouraging 
feature of the work in this Republic has been a decided increase in the contribu- 
tions of the people for the advancement of the work of the church. 


II 


That there have been four conversions among Americans in our mission at 
PANAMA should be a matter for encouragement, as the community on the 
Isthmus is notable for its religious indifference. The church-going population is 
very smail and is made up of transients. The unsettled state of affairs makes this 
work very difficult. More encouraging is the mission to Spanish-speaking people, 
with its church and educational work in the city of Panama. The fact that the 
English language is taught in the school has attracted many of the Spanish-speaking 
people to our church. ‘The congregations have increased in size throughout the 
year, an encouraging feature being the large proportionate increase in the number 
of women attending. In one month there were nine conversions. 


* *, 
% %e % *%* 


Splendid revivals were conducted during the year, especially in Mexico City. 

The revival which took place in the capital is said to have surpassed any before 

r witnessed in the country. Perhaps its most encouraging 
Mexico feature was that the services were conducted almost ex- 
clusively by native leaders. Both old and young were 

reached and in some cases entire families were brought into the church. 

Two features tend to show that the spiritual condition of Mexican Methodists 
is continually improving. ‘The native pastors have been grappling successfully with 
Mormonism and have been prominent in the struggle for temperance and civic 
righteousness. ‘The contributions of the native church were larger in 1906 than 
ever before, having exceeded $100,000 Mexican. 

Our large and successful educational work was vigorous and aggressive and 
served not only to accomplish its primary purpose, but also to win many to the 
religious enterprise to which it owes its existence. The school in Puebla, which 
began a few years ago with a dozen pupils, had on its rolls during the year some 
600 students, some of whom were the children of government officials, who have 
come to entrust the education of their children to the care of Methodist missionaries. 
Our three schools in Pachuca reported about 800 children under instruction. 


Board of Foreign Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church 
150 Fifth Avenue, New York 


12 


